Frustrations boiling over for Rangers

NEW YORK – It was the convergence of two Rangers’ playoff nightmares on one ugly play.

There was Rick Nash turning the puck over with the Blueshirts on the power play, and that blunder leading directly to a short-handed goal by Brandon Sutter that gave Pittsburgh the lead for good in a 4-2 win in Game 4 of the Metropolitan Division finals Wednesday the Garden.

The Penguins now lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1, and can close it out with another win in Game 5 Friday night at Pittsburgh.

Nash, who was booed by the home crowd when the touched the puck in the third period, remains goal-less in this year’s playoff and in his last 14 postseason games dating to last season.

"For sure it’s tough, but you understand where they’re coming from," Nash said of the booing. "It was a tough play and cost a goal against. You’ve got to take ownership of those plays and understand why that happens."

The Rangers’ power play is now scoreless in its last 36 opportunities dating to Game 2 of their first-round series against Philadelphia. As bad as their power play had been, however, they at least hadn’t given up a short-handed goal during this year’s playoffs until Sutter scored with 1:33 left in the second period to snap a 1-1 tie.

The Rangers had some momentum before that. They had tied the game on Carl Hagelin’s goal 5:30 into the second. Then, Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin took what seemed to be a foolish penalty by tripping Derick Brassard behind the Penguins’ net with 2:41 left in the period.

During the resulting power play, Nash was well off target on a backhand pass intended for Derek Stepan that instead was picked off by defenseman Kris Letang at the Pittsburgh blue line. Letang got the puck ahead to Brian Gibbons, who raced in alone on the left wing.

Gibbons lost the puck at the top of the crease, but Sutter followed up by lifting it into the net.

"It’s a play where maybe I can’t try to make something out of nothing," Nash said. "I’ve just got to kind of turn back and take my ice. It’s a tough situation, and I have to be better."

Nash scored 26 goals during the regular season, but has just one goal in 23 playoff games as a Ranger since being acquired from Columbus during the summer of 2012. He knows that’s ultimately how he will be judged.

"It matters what you do in the playoffs when things count and, obviously, I’ve been struggling," he said.

Nash said this is "by far" as frustrated as he’s ever been.

The fans were frustrated too and took it out on Nash.

"Rick’s a human being that’s out there trying his best," Rangers center Brad Richards said. "He’s putting pressure on himself because he knows it’s his job to do so. … We’re 100 percent behind him. This is a tough league. [You] can’t just go and score goals just because someone says you have to, fans say you have to or media says you have to."